Self-storage businessman, Sam Kennard, has spoken out against intrusive and unnecessary regulation.

Mr. Kennard’s business was publicly listed by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) after it failed to submit a “gender equality indicators” report.

Defending the reputation of his business, Mr. Kennard stated:

“My company does not discriminate for race, age, sex or religion,”.

“If someone has a good attitude, not afraid of work and willing to learn they’re a starter in our view. This is not a particularly profound or enlightened perspective — it is just common sense. It is good for business.”

Mr. Kennard attacked excessive government regulation for undermining productivity, and called for the WGEA and other unnecessary regulations to be eliminated:

“I can confirm that we do discriminate against time-wasting bureaucracies. The WGEA is a prime example of unnecessary government intrusion into the activities of businesses. My business has much more productive endeavours to pursue than filling out paperwork for government agencies like the WGEA.”

“While politicians and economists lament the declining productivity in our economy, it is exactly this red-tape and the imposts of these bureaucracies that tax the efforts of enterprise. If the government was serious about tackling productivity it would get out of our way — it would abolish the WGEA and the abundance of other regulations they lay on.”

Another company, Palace Cinemas, was also listed by the WGEA. The company submitted a report, but refused to disclose information regarding salaries out of consideration for the privacy of its employees. This led to it being listed by the WGEA, despite the fact that the company employs more women than men.

Senior IPA Researcher Mikayla Novak discussed the WGEA in 2014:

“Government-mandated gender reporting is an instance of red-tape overkill.”

“HR managers and administrators are now obligated to spend extra time, filling out and lodging additional paperwork as part of their daily business, to satisfy WGEA requirements.”

“Employers should remain free to select employees, including excellent female staff, on their merit, and female employees should be free to seek employment in conformance with their own lifestyle and other needs.”

Gender reporting is an unnecessary burden on business, and the IPA supports the abolition of the WGEA and other intrusive regulatory bodies.

By Michael Husek